WOMEN IN BUSINESS>> Entrepreneurship is the way to go
What is purpose of Lions Club?
International Lions Club is a humanitarian club which came into existence exactly a 100 years ago when a man, Melvin Jones, came up with the belief that if every well-meaning person can do a little for the less privileged, the society will be better for it. We call on well-meaning people to contribute to our course.
We are a very accountable people. The society is structured. We try to put a smile on the faces of people that are in need. We will support orphanage homes in Kubwa and Bwari. In Kubwa General Hospital, we help in the maintenance of maternity ward because it is there that children are birthed.
What character do you think an entrepreneur should have?
An entrepreneur should be able to take calculated risks. You don’t just venture into a business because others are going into it; you analyse the situation before you go into a venture.
An entrepreneur should be innovative. He or she should be persistent. He should be tenacious. He or she should not be easily deterred because the business world is not very friendly.
Why is entrepreneurship not thriving as it should in our society?
So what government can do is to intensify sensitisation. Do a re-orientation that white-collar jobs are not readily available and entrepreneurship is the in-thing. Let’s begin to tell the youths and women and let it get into them.
What structures do you think government should put on ground to push entrepreneurship in Nigeria?
I believe structures are already on ground. SMEDAN for instance is the apex institution that was set up to cater for the SMEs sub-sector. So if the agency is well funded, it can reach the nooks and crannies of our country.
SMEDAN has the personnel and the mandate; we have the technical support which the nation needs to do all of this. You know, Nigeria is a big country. Whatever SMEDAN has, it deploys it to the area that needs it most.
Everyone knows that the SMEs are the engine room of every economy, so if we can get more funds into the sector, that will reach everybody; it will help.
You don’t train somebody and don’t give them some money to start up. If we train, we should be able to give a little support in terms of equipment, tools, money which will go a long way in helping the setting up of a lot more businesses every year.